Subcellular processes like meiosis are frequently problematic for learners because they are complex and, except for the extent that they can be observed under a light microscope, occur outside of our direct experience. More detailed characterization of what underlies various degrees of student understanding of a process is required to more fully…

Uses of quantitative research for studying the relationship between school leadership and educational reform are discussed in this paper. Perceived inadequacies of quantitative methods are that such methods are inadequate for dealing with real-life complex phenomena, and that they require degrees of control that cannot be realistically achieved.…

This paper examines the evolution of computer software programs designed to support the qualitative research process; the differences between existing qualitative software and Metamorph(TM); and the use of Metamorph(TM) for qualitative research. The paper begins by presenting an overview of computer use in qualitative research, which includes a…

Traditional histories of American college composition instruction in the 19th and 20th centuries examine primarily the textbooks used in those courses, then draw conclusions based on the content of those textbooks about the activities and attitudes expressed in the classroom. The canon of composition historiography is lacking in several ways: the…

Using qualitative inquiry, this study provided a descriptive autobiographical revelation of the various developmental experiences of a preservice French teacher. A major focus on the subjective aspects of the teacher candidate's development provided additional information concerning her mental and personal life and the influence they have on her…

I. Roseman, M. Spindel, and P. Jose (1990) had previously demonstrated that specific appraisals of events led to discrete emotional responses, but this model has not been widely tested by other research teams using alternative research methods. The present study utilized four qualitative research methods, taught by Patti Lather at the 1994…

When conducting a two-year college program review, there are several advantages to supplementing the standard quantitative research approach with qualitative measures. Qualitative research does not depend on a large number of random samples, it uses a flexible design which can be refined as the research is executed, and it generates findings in a…

A qualitative study focused on the experiences of 20 teachers required to use portfolio assessment in a summer program for at-risk kindergarten and first-grade students. Three questions guided data collection: What types of information did the teachers aggregate?; What definition of literacy emerged from the acquired information?; and What guided…

This paper explores possible intergenerational socialization into science on the part of mothers who are scientists in relation to their school-age daughters. Its aim is to describe ways in which mothers who are scientists foster or fail to foster orientation to science fields. The exploratory and naturalistic study is conducted in the "context of…

It is argued that careful attention to the role of the researcher's experience in qualitative research is desirable for several reasons. A rationale for such examination is established, and the research and scholarly activity pursued by the author for the last 11 years are described to present a kind of career case study for analysis of the…

More than 130 service-learning courses have been developed and taught at the University of Utah, a major Research I university, over the last ten years. A series of focus groups were conducted to identify salient factors related to faculty and administrators' perspectives of the advantages and challenges associated with service-learning. The study…

This study explores reverse discrimination as a cultural phenomenon that should be studied by anthropologists, and to which anthropology has inadvertently contributed. Discrimination by minority group members is taught and encouraged under the guise of ethnic pride and promotion of traditional beliefs. Ethnocentrism may be a cultural defense…

Qualitative research methods were used to investigate the sources and methods of dealing with stress in eight families with adopted children who have severe developmental or multiple disabilities. The families, who had each adopted from two to 30 children, included "birth children" and, in some cases, foster children as well. The research methods…

A team approach to the use of qualitative methods in a study of high quality out-of-class experiences for undergraduate students at 14 institutions of higher education is described. Four research questions examined: the physical and organizational features characterizing the institutions; the nature of institutional policies related to…

Issues in vocational development for disabled youth in Honduras, Central America, were the focus of an intensive short-term qualitative research effort. Among the research objectives were identifying promising employment opportunities and determining areas where modest investments of technical assistance or other resources would have maximum…